Improvement in furnaces for heating blanks



2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

G. H. WEBB. Furnace for Heating Blanks.

No.22 335. Patented Dec. 2, I879.

VVITNESSE jiN-I/lj/[ORI WWZU JMf 2 Sheets- Sheet, 2. G. H. WEBB. Furnacefor Heating Blanks.

Pat

No. 222,335 nted Dec. 2, I879.

WITNESSES! INVENTORI fifi A w i 5%;

. y will hereinafter be .in the claims.- y

in, the drawings, dis a standard firmly sewith the same.

GEORGE H. WEBB, OFIPAWTUGKET, RHODE ISLAND.

IM ROV MENT IN FURNACES FOR HEATING BLANKS.

Specificatioufformiug part of Letters Patent L lo, 222,335,

- Jiine ig, 1379.

To all whom it may concern:

. Be it known that I, GEORGE E. WEBB, of

Pawtucket, in the county of Providence a'nd Stateof Rhode Island,'-have"inventedfanew and usefulImprovementin Furhace's' for Heatin g Blanks; and I hereby declare thatth efoL lowing is a'full, clear, and exactdescription of the same, reference being hadto thefaccom= panyingdrawings, forming part of this specification.

Figure 1 is a view of:-n1y improved forge furnace adapted for theheatingof bolt-blanks for bolt-heading machinei-' Fig.2"is a sectionalview of the tnrnace,-showi ng theair-blast device and the meansarreguanngthe same, as alsothe fixed suppo'rton which thefurnace properis madeto revolve, so that new blanks can be inserted andfheatedblankswith drawn'at a point convenient to the bolt head ing machine. Figi3is atopviewof thefur-L I nace, showing the bolt-{blanks inserted. Fig.

4 isa top View, the rings forming the blankholders being removed, asalso the annular table, so as to showthe dumping grate and the means forrotating the. furnace more fully:

Similar letters ofreference' indicate corre spondin g parts. i

The object of my inventionis to facilitate the heating'of blanks forforging; and another object of this invention isto'so arrange the grateand the blast-'regulatingdevice ina fur nace that each of theblanksiusertedshallbe more thoroughly heated at the point which is to be upsetin forming the head of a bolt or similar article than at other points.

A further object of this invention is to con-r struct the portionforming the sides of the fur nacenear thefire, and throughwhich theblanks are inserted, so that the same may be readily exchanged. p

Another object of this invention is to sup port the furnace and arrangethe same in such a manner that dust, ashes, or cinders will-not" preventthe free operation of the same. Y My invention consists in the severaldetails of construction andcombinations of-parts, as described, andpointed out cured to the bed-plate a, or cast in one piece made-so thatashes, lie on the same and obstruct the rollin g .of the in acircle.

b is an annular-ring, cast dated December :2, 1879 application filed Vin one piece with a bracket, by which it is secured to the standard a. cis acircularcham- 7 her secured to the annular ring b, which. extendingdownward, forms furnace, the bottom thereof being closedby the ash-pitof the the plate d, which is secured so as to'be easily removed when theash-pit is to be cleaned.

e is a cylinder, whose interior is preferably made wider at the bottomand tapers upward, {as shown in Fig. 2. This vided with a rim and gear.sets loosely within the annular ring 12, and is supported on a series ofballs, g, which rest on cylinder '6 is pro- The saidcylinder the surfaceof the annular ring 12." Tolihsure the free rotation of the balls, norooveor indenture is made in the upper surface of the annular ring I);but this surface is preferably dust, or cinders will not ballsx'Tosecure the balls and hold'them in their proper positions, an annulargrooveis madein the lower face of the rim f, as shown in Fig. 2, andthey are thereby made to rotate his a dumping-grate supportedona centralshaft in the cylinder e, so that the u'pper surface of the grate is on alevel, or nearly so, with the upper edge of said cylinder. The grate issurrounded by the rings i i, resting on the place by projections.

cylinder '6, and held in ontlie cylinder, as shown in Figs. I and 2. Therings '6 i are duplicates of eacliiothenand are cast with thesemicircular holes K K' in each, and also with the dowels Z, so'thatthey fit'into each other. Either of these'riugs may be used as theupperor lower ring, andthey may be replaced by rings cast from the samepattern.

m is an annular shelf or table surrounding the lower ring, the surfaceof thistable being on or nearly on a line with the holes K, so thatblanks inserted may rest onithe same as the said shelf or table mrevolves with the furnace.

n is the stationary shelf, supported by the brackets 0 0, which aresecuredto the annular ring I). On

be kept and the tongs supported, so that the blanks will be ready forinsertion intothe holes K. 1

The blast-pipe is placed so that the exit this shelf a stock of blankscan thereof is central within the ash-pit c. p is the outlet-nozzle,provided with the conical plug g, which is made adjustable either bybeing supported on a central pin provided with a screw-thread, or bysliding on the central pin and being operated by a lever, so that it canbe secured in any desired position, as shown in Fig. 2 by broken lines.When so arranged the plug q can be used as a valve to shut 011' or leton the air.

When the blanks to be heated are to be used for bolts on which the headsare to be formed by upsetting, it is desirable to heat the metal of eachblank thoroughly a short distance from the end, preferably to a higherheat than the end. When the blank thus heated is presented to theheading-machine the metal will upset more readily and form a betterhead, being much stronger than when the end of the blank is the hottestand is turned over the rest of the blank. To heat, therefore, the blankthoroughly, I arrange the nozzle 19 and the plug (1 so that the mainforce of the blast will strike the grate at the distance from the outeredge of the fire where this portion of each blank is located, leavingthe center of the fire but little affected by the blast.

The furnace is connected by a dome or funnel with a chimney or outletarranged to carry off the products of combustion.

For light work the whole furnace may be made stationary, but circular inform, so that two or more forgers may have access to the holes K andinsert new blanks into the holes from which heated ones have beenwithdrawn but for the ordinary bolt-work I prefer to make the upper partof the furnace rotatable.

Various devices may be used to rotate the furnace proper-such, forexample, as a worm gearing into the gear f. The manner I prefer is shownin the drawings, in which the pinion r gears into the gear f, and thispinion 1' is secured to a vertical shaft, to the lower end of which thebevel-gear S is also secured. This bevel-gear S gears into a bevel-gear,t, loose on a horizontal shaft, to which continuous motion is imparted.The bevel -gear t is provided with a clutch, u, and is driven by aclutch. a, secured to the horizontal shaft by a spline. This clutch isoperated by the lever V, actuated by the foot-treadle W, which iscounterbalanced by the weight X, so that the clutches are disconnectedin their normal condition, and are connected when the operativedepresses the foot-treadle, the foot part of which is made and placed sothat it can be readily operated by either foot of the forger.

The shelf at is of such length that usually three or four blanks can beremoved and new blanksinserted before the furnace is to be rotated.

The operation of this furnace is as follows, viz: A fire being built onthe grate h, the furnace is made to rotate slowly and the blanks areinserted to the proper distances, and when the first blank inserted isopposite the operative the same is withdrawn, another inserted, and thework continued.

This furnace is much more convenient than the ordinary forge-furnace. Itis more accessible and more durable, and is readily repaired bysubstituting new rings it for the old ones. It does not heat up the roomas much as the old furnaces, takes less room, and produces more andbetter work with less fuel, and the heat can be applied to the portionof the blank requiring't-he same more uniformly.

Instead of the bottom plate, a box or receptacle can be secured, which,with the dumped ashes and coal, can be readily removed.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent 1. In a circular forge furnace, the combination, withthe cylinder and grate located therein, of a ring placed above the grateand provided with a series of holes, K, and an annular shelf, m, securedto the furnace, the shelf being located slightly below the holes K,substantially as set forth.

2. In a circular forge-furnace, the combination, with the cylinder andgrate and ring placed above the grate, said ring provided with a seriesof holes, K, of a closed ash-pit and a blast-pipe provided with anadjustable air-deflector, whereby an annular blast of air may be forcedagainst the bed of fuel on the grate, substantially as set forth.

3. In a circular forge-furnace, the combination, with the cylinder andgrate located therein, of the interchangeable rings 'i 1', provided withholes K K, substantially as set forth.

4. A circular forged'urnace provided with interchangeable rings '5 i,annular shelf m, and stationary shelf a, substantially as set forth.

5. In a circular forge-furnace, the combination, with the ring D andstationary chamber a, secured thereto, of the cylinder 0 and antifriction rollers interposed between the upper edge of ring D and anannular flange projecting outwardly from the cylinder a, substantiallyas set forth.

6. In a circular forge-furnace, the combination, with cylinder 0,provided with a gear, f, of the stationary ring D, inclosing the lowerend of cylinder 0, interposed anti-friction rollers, and drivingmechanism for rotating cylinder e, substantially as set forth.

GEORGE H. WEBB.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH A. MILLER, J. A. MILLER, Jr.

